Daily GK Updates – 2nd Nov, 2020

 

NATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Yashvardhan K. Sinha appointed as new Chief Information Commissioner: Government of India has approved the name of Former Foreign Service officer, Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha as the new Chief Information Commissioner. He was already the Information Commissioner and was also the most senior. The post of CIC chairman had been vacant for several months after Bimal Zulka retired.

Other appointments: A Marathi journalist, Uday Mahurkar has been selected for the post of Information Commissioner. Uday Mahurkar worked as a deputy editor in India Today Group and is considered close to the Sangh Parivar. Uday Mahurkar has also written a book on Prime Minister Modi titled “Merging with a Billion” and “Center Stage: Inside Narendra Modi”.

Note: Central Information Commission Founded: 12 October 2005; Central Information Commission Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

2. Microsoft & NSDC tie-up to empower 1 lakh women with digital skills: Microsoft has collaborated with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to impart digital skills to more than one lakh underserved women in India over the next ten months. This initiative is an extension of Microsoft’s partnership with NSDC to provide digital skills to over 1 lakh youth in the country. The programme will curate a series of live training sessions and digital skilling drives to help create opportunities for young girls and women, particularly first-time job seekers and those whose jobs may have been impacted by Covid-19, to join the future workforce.

Under this partnership, eSkill India – NSDC’s digital skilling initiative – will support in building the outreach of this engagement through its skilling ecosystem, which includes sector skill councils, training partners, and training centres. Microsoft and NSDC will award a joint e-certificate to participants postcourse completion. Furthermore, 20,000 young women from regions with the least female labour force participation will be selected by NSDC and skilled through dedicated skills for the employability training program for employment in IT/IT-enabled job roles.

Note: Microsoft CEO: Satya Nadella; Microsoft Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, United States.

NSDC CEO: Manish Kumar; NSDC Headquarters: New Delhi.

 

3. Arvind Kejriwal launches ‘Green Delhi’ app to redress pollution complaints: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched the ‘Green Delhi’ mobile application using which citizens can bring pollution causing activities to the Government’s notice. The Chief Minister said the Government wants to involve everyone in the fight against pollution as no big change can take place without the support of people. He said citizens can click pictures or make a video of pollution causing activities, such as burning of garbage, industrial pollution, dust etc. and upload them on the application. The application will identify the location and the complaint will be automatically forwarded to the concerned department for time-bound redressal, he said. A ‘green war room’ has been set up at the Delhi Secretariat to monitor the status of complaints. A team of 70 ‘green’ marshals will assist in their redressal, he said.

 

4. IIT Kharagpur with TCS develops novel Industry 4.0 technology: IIT Kharagpur has developed novel Industry 4.0 technology for remotely controlled factory operations and real-time quality correction during industrial production, jointly with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to set a new trend in India’s advanced manufacturing sector.

At the time of pandemic when staffing has restrictions due to the hygiene and social distancing norms, cloud infrastructure, remote and real-time operations systems hold the key to maintain effective industrial operations.  But the benefits of controlled operations have a bigger impact especially in the context of Atma Nirbhar Bharat in delivering quality output at low costs. The present innovation upgraded the industrial process of friction stir welding to a multi-sensory system of Industry 4.0.  It has not only set the course for remotely controlled operations in the Indian industrial sector but has also enabled real-time quality check and correction during the production process.  This will make possible for industrial houses to achieve standardized quality goals throughout the production process and reduce rejection hence lowering the cost of production.

 

5. UP govt secures first rank in disbursing loans under PM Swanidhi Scheme: Uttar Pradesh government has secured the first rank in central government’s one of the most ambitious schemes – the PM Atmanirbhar Nidhi Scheme (SVANidhi Scheme) by approving the highest number of loans under the scheme in the country. State has ranked first in all the categories – Applications, Sanctions and Disbursements of the loans under the scheme.  As many as 6,22,167 applications were received under the scheme in the state which is highest in the country, out of which sanctions were given to 3,46,150 applicants while the loans were disbursed to 2,26,728 beneficiaries.

 

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

 

1. Sudan became 3rd Arab Nation to normalise relations with Israel: Israel and Sudan agreed to normalize relations in a deal brokered with the help of the United States, making Sudan the third Arab country to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past two months. U.S. President Donald Trump's aides have been pressing Sudan to take steps toward normalizing relations with Israel, following similar U.S.-brokered moves in recent weeks by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain. The new agreement between Sudan and Israel will establish economic and trade links, with an initial focus on agriculture

Trump has told the U.S. Congress he will rescind Sudan's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, the White House said after Sudan transferred $335 million into an account for victims and their families. Last month, Sudanese officials discussed its removal from the U.S. terrorism list in the UAE in return for the recognition of Israel, reports stated.

Note: Sudan Capital: Khartoum; Prime Minister: Abdalla Hamdok; Currency: Sudanese pound

 

2. Air-connectivity between Bangladesh & India resumes: The air-connectivity between Bangladesh and India resumed with two flights leaving Dhaka under the air-bubble arrangement between the two countries. The service was inaugurated at the Hazrat Shahjalal airport in Dhaka by the High Commissioner of India in Bangladesh Vikram Doraiswami and the Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Air Vice Marshal Mafidur Rahman.

Under the air-bubble arrangement three Bangladeshi airlines- Biman Bangladesh, US-Bangla Airlines and Novo Air will initially operate 28 flights a week to India. Five Indian carriers including Air India, Vistara, Indigo, Spicejet and GoAIr will also run 28 flights a week between the two countries. The flights between two countries have resumed after nearly eight months. The travel between India and Bangladesh was disrupted due to the outbreak of Corona pandemic.

Note: Bangladesh Capital: Dhaka; Currency: Bangladeshi taka; President: Abdul Hamid; Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina

 

3. China may not recognise British-issued Hong Kong passports: China’s foreign ministry said that it may decide not to recognise British-issued passports for Hong Kong residents in retaliation for London’s moves to open a path to citizenship for those holding the documents. Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that Britain had violated its promises and played up the issue of the British National (Overseas) passports.

Hong Kong reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997 and the sides have increasingly feuded over civil rights in the territory. Britain accuses China of failing to live up to its pledges to maintain freedoms in the special administrative region, while Beijing says London is interfering in its internal affairs. Differences have sharpened since China in June imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong in response to months of anti-government protests last year. London suspended its extradition treaty with the territory and has offered political asylum to persons targeted under the new legislation.

 

 

OTHER UPDATES:

 

BANKING AND FINANCE

 

1. Punjab National Bank Launches TMSAC portal and 2020 Vigilance Manual: As a part of the Vigilance Awareness Week (VAW), the nation’s leading public sector bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB), launched the PNB Tracking & Monitoring Staff Accountability Cases (TMSAC) portal and PNB’s 2020 Vigilance Manual. The user-friendly TMSAC portal tracks and monitor the complaints/NPA reference at various stages on a real-time basis. The portal will help the Bank identify the internal fraud in advance, take instant action, and improve the internal processes. The Vigilance Manual helps to have a better understanding of the vigilance functions and the guidelines.

 

2. ICICI Lombard and FreePaycard partner to Offer Bite-sized, convenient health insurance solutions: ICICI Lombard in partnership with Freepaycard, an online pre-paid card trading platform, has launched Group Safeguard Insurance to receive an assured amount in case of any injury or hospitalization for treatment. The plan will be offered a customized hospitalization product that comes in three variants – Hospital Daily Cash Benefit, Death Benefit, and Special Vector-borne Disease-related Hospitalization Benefit. The Hospital Daily Cash Benefit will let customers avail sum insured up to Rs 60,000 for a maximum period of 30 days. This option can be availed at Rs 699 for a 1-year tenure.

The second cover, Death Benefit or the Personal Accident Cover for 1-year at Rs 699 for a sum insured of Rs 10 lakhs in case of accidental death of the insured or permanent total disablement, and Rs 90,000 for parental care in case of the insured’s accidental death or permanent total disablement.

The Special Vector-borne Disease-related Hospitalization cover comes at Rs 379 for a year for a sum insured of Rs 75,000, which is paid on hospitalization due to any of the covered vector-borne disease or malaria. These include dengue, chikungunya, kala-azar, Japanese encephalitis, and filariasis. However, a minimum of 48 hours of hospitalization is required for the insured to be eligible for the claim.

 

AWARDS AND HONOURS

 

1. Indian organisation wins UN award for efforts to combat climate change amid Covid pandemic: An Indian organisation that leverages tourism and technology to help remote communities access solar energy has won a prestigious UN award for its efforts to combat climate change amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE) is among the winners of the 2020 UN Global Climate Action Award. GHE is one of the world’s first organisations using tourism and technology to bring solar energy to remote communities. The UN Global Climate Action Awards are spearheaded by the Momentum for Change initiative at UN Climate Change. The projects are recognised as innovative solutions that not only address climate change but also help drive progress on many other sustainable development goals.

 

DEFENCE

 

1. Indian Army launches indigenous mobile application SAI: The Indian Army has launched a secured messaging application platform named ‘Secure Application for the Internet’ (SAI). This mobile application for Android will support end-to-end secure voice, text and video calling services. This application is similar to applications like Telegram and WhatsApp.

According to the Ministry of Defence: SAI has been vetted by CERT-in empanelled auditor and Army Cyber Group. It also informed that the process for filing Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) hosting the infrastructure on NIC and working on iOS platform is currently in progress. Ministry of Defence also informed that SAI will be used by pan Army to ensure securing messaging. Upon reviewing the functionalities of the application, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh praised Col Sai Shankar for his skill and ingenuity for developing the application.

 

OBITUARIES

 

1. Trinamool Congress MLA from Jhargram Sukumar Hansda passes away: Trinamool Congress MLA from Jhargram, Sukumar Hansda, passed away at a Kolkata hospital. He was 65. The two-time Trinamool Congress MLA from Jhargram, Hansda was a minister in the first-term of the Mamata Banerjee government in which he held the portfolio of Paschimanchal Unnayan Minister. Hansda was also the Deputy Speaker of West Bengal Legislative Assembly.